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PM says Canada to receive 68M COVID-19 doses by end of July

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OTTAWA -

By the end of July, Canada will have received 鈥渙ver 68 million鈥 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday, resulting in more Canadians being able to receive their second doses earlier than expected.

鈥淐anada is getting millions more Moderna doses brought forward from our summer shipment schedule into June, and we're locking in shipments for the first half of July鈥 And we鈥檙e also getting extra doses from the U.S.,鈥 Trudeau said, addressing the country from self-isolation at Rideau Cottage where he is quarantining after his international trip.

The previous cumulative total for doses the federal government said they expected to see delivered by the end of July was 55 million, which the government said Friday was based on Pfizer-BioNTech鈥檚 commitments and all past deliveries, as Moderna had not yet confirmed its future shipments.

鈥淛ust like we surpassed our delivery numbers for the first quarter of the year, we鈥檙e doing the same for the spring quarter. That will mean that for the end of June, as promised, we鈥檒l be at more than 50 million doses total, and by the end of July, we鈥檒l be over 68 million doses for Canadians.鈥

Detailing the anticipated upcoming deliveries, Procurement Minister Anita Anand said that Moderna will be sending 11 million doses of its mRNA vaccine between late June and the end of July, and Pfizer will be delivering 9.1 million doses of its mRNA vaccine by the end of July.

Anand called the announcement a 鈥渕ilestone,鈥 that is the result of an ongoing push with suppliers to accelerate deliveries. Asked whether Canada will be paying a premium for the fast-tracked deliveries she said that the government has paid 鈥渇air value.鈥

There are no future confirmed deliveries of either the AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

The federal government has previously promised a 鈥渙ne-dose summer鈥 and 鈥渢wo-dose fall鈥 with all Canadians who can, and want to be, able to be fully vaccinated by the end of September. With this influx of doses expected over the next several weeks it is possible, pending further delivery delays, that the target date could be moved up.

Asked whether the prime minister was ready to set a new target for when all shots will be in arms, he said he is 鈥渃ertainly hopeful that everyone who wants to is going to be fully vaccinated before September.鈥

鈥淭he sooner the largest possible number of people get double vaccinated, the sooner we're going to be able to get back to more and more normality,鈥 he said, thanking provinces for doing their part in ensuring doses are being administered expeditiously.

Further, Anand said that sticking to the end of September target factors in the 鈥渧olatile鈥 supply chains, the reality of global demand, and the domestic responsibility of the rollout.

According to 愛污传媒鈥 vaccine tracker, as of Friday morning, more than 31 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Canada, with more than 74 per cent of eligible Canadians having received their first dose, and nearly 19 per cent of the eligible population fully vaccinated.

PM TO GET WHICHEVER SHOT OFFERED

Following the National Advisory Committee on Immunization鈥檚 latest recommendation that people who received a first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine should receive a second dose of a mRNA vaccine, Trudeau says he鈥檒l take whichever vaccine is offered to him first.

Trudeau received his first AstraZeneca shot in April, and when provinces started limiting the use of the vaccine he had said he still planned to get a second AstraZeneca shot on the advice of his doctor.

鈥淟ike many Canadians, I'm looking forward to my second dose, which I hope to get soon after coming out of quarantine in the next few weeks,鈥 he said.

鈥淏ut as to which dose, I will take whichever dose is offered to me. I will do what all Canadians should do, which is follow the best advice of the experts around them, including NACI and their family doctors, and I will be reassured as all Canadians should be that getting that second dose is the best way through this pandemic.鈥

Conservative Leader Erin O鈥橳oole, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, and many other federal and provincial politicians were among those who received AstraZeneca for their first dose and will soon be due for their second shots.

Trudeau said that any Canadian who received a Health Canada-authorized vaccine 鈥渄id the right thing,鈥 because 鈥渨e're on our way to getting through and into a much better summer because of it.鈥

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